August 24, 2025 | 11am - 6pm info@Clevelandoneworldday.org
216.810.6693

Delegates

All Garden Delegates – There are three main items that are of interest to you: Updated April 9, 2025.

1. 2025 OWD GARDEN CHECK LIST – print and use as your planning tool for One World Day.

2. Guidelines for One World Day – print, sign, and return to Tom Turkaly.

3. Please fill out this Garden Participation Form. 

Please read this page carefully, if necessary, print it for your reference. There are lots of detailed information related to One World Day.  NOTE: This is an internal packet for use by Garden Delegates ONLY, so please do not distribute this or share it with non-Garden representatives.

Hello Garden Delegates!

It’s time to prepare for the 79th Annual One World Day, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

This event has been growing every year, from 10,400 people in 2015 to over 30,000 in 2022. Even during 2021, when the rain hampered us a bit, we still drew close to 20,000.

Please keep this information handy and don’t hesitate to call the CCGF’s OWD team if you have any questions.

We are excited for another fabulous celebration with you.  Additional information about the 79th One World Day can easily be located throughout the Delegate ONLY page, (This is an internal packet for use by Garden Delegates ONLY, so please do not distribute this or share it with non-Garden representatives.)

Please read this page carefully. If necessary, print it for your reference. This covers many aspects of One World Day.  

PARTICIPATING AS A GARDEN The goal is to showcase each garden with food, activities and cultural information that connects with the garden’s ethnicity and culture, so that every garden will have something going on.  You can sell the regular 16-ounce bottles of water at $1.00 each. Please provide signage for everything you plan to sell.  If the pre-packaged bottled water is from an approved source and storage facility, no warehouse license is required.

  • NO alcoholic beverages can be sold, passed out or consumed at your garden. The City of Cleveland can shut you down if this occurs.
  • Only your Garden’s sponsoring organization can be represented in your Garden.
  • You can have 1 additional non-Garden organization (either a nonprofit or for profit organization, and either selling or providing services) to be part of your garden at no charge.  Should you wish to have additional participation, the request must go through the Garden/Vendor Coordinator and be approved. The participation fees must be paid to the Federation.
  • There will be a Market Place and Plaza Market areas where all non-garden organizations, vendors and exhibitors will be placed.
  • Thank you, Your One World Day Team

QUICK NAVIGATION – Use these to quickly jump to the information you need within this page

CONTACTS FOR ONE WORLD DAY:

If you need to contact us,  emails usually get a response within 24 hours.  If you call our OWD number, make sure to leave a message so we can get back to you ASAP.  Please note these are the email addresses to reach out for OWD event only.

Current map with all the information about Bus Shuttle stops, parking (by color permit passes),  parade route, and others.

MLK Orange Triangular’s ARE for Trams stops.

  • PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION AT ONE WORLD DAY 

GENERAL PARKING

There are two general public parking areas: the Cleveland Metroparks’ parking (off I-90, MLK exit) and the VA Employee parking garage (near the south end of the Gardens, 1606 E 105th St). Click here to get map directions for how to go from the I-90 exit ramp to the VA Employee Parking Garage.

  • There will be no shuttle from Metroparks’ parking lot to the North entrance of the Gardens (Albanian, Russian, Vietnamese gardens area)
  • 3 OWD Designated school buses will be available to transport patrons from the VA Parking Lot at the south end over to the Peace Garden of the Nation.  The route will be from the VA Parking Lot to the Chinese Garden and to the American Legion Peace Garden (the Yellow Square dot on the map above). The buses will continue on East Blvd. only till E. 88th Street and then loop again. This is also the shuttle that will return back to the VA Parking Lot. It will be running from 10:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. 6:30pm IS THE LAST PICKUP.

DELEGATES PARKING

TRANSPORATION

Several 6-seater and 4-seater golf carts will be available to transport people along either MLK Blvd. or on East Blvd.  There is a designated route for each of the carts. They do NOT take anyone to any of the parking lots.

Golf Carts are NOT to transport vendor’s item to/from parking lots, if you are late, or if you plan to leave early.

3 OWD Designated school buses will be available to transport patrons along East Blvd. (north bound only). They follow a route that starts from the VA Parking Lot to the Chinese Garden and to the American Legion Peace Garden (the Yellow Square dot on the map above), then continue on East Blvd. only till E. 88th Street and then loop again. This is also the shuttle that will return back to the VA Parking Lot. It will be running from 10:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. 6:30pm IS THE LAST PICKUP.

Per Cleveland Police Department:  NO BUSES WILL BE ALLOWED INSIDE THE OWD FOOTPRINT ON MLK.

NEW FOR 2024!!  This year, we are incorporating a TRAM with 2 trailers, available only on  MLK to help patrons travel within the Cultural Gardens. They will stop at various points along MLK (orange triangles on map). These stops will all be marked with lawn signs.  

ROAD BLOCKAGE AND SECURITY AT ONE WORLD DAY

Security will be on site, provided mostly by Cleveland Police. Internal security will be provided by a private security firm.

ALL ROADS will be CLOSED for entrance at 10AM and all vehicles inside the event area MUST vacate the area by 10AM at the latest. Any car left after 10:30am is subject to be towed.

Road blockage will be similar to last year. Information will be provided later in late August. Please note, once an area is closed for entry, you will not be able to pass through.

Your parking passes do not entitle you to use it as a mean to enter that gardens after 10am.

PERFORMANCES AT ONE WORLD DAY (Deadline July 15th)

Fill out the Garden Participation form (through link at the top of this page) to let us know about performances in your Garden.

For OWD 2024, there will be a limited series of performances or presentations at the Centennial Plaza.

Gardens must coordinate with and provide the OWD team with your scheduled itinerary and lists of artist/performers, and their bio for the program guide no later than July 15th.

Performers will receive a limited quantity of parking passes for parking at the Michael R. White School or Stonebrook Montessori School, 1000 E. 92nd St, Cleveland. Others can park either at the VA Employee Parking lot and take the shuttle bus to the gardens or park at the MetroParks’ parking lot at the north end MLK.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

  • It is up to the Gardens to secure performers and provide us with a schedule by July 15th. Please include the time of the performance, the name of the group and a bio.  These performances will take place in the gardens. Please provide your own PA system for the performances. 
  • Please keep your audio system so that it is heard within your garden only and so that it does not disturb neighboring gardens or become a nuisance to the event.  Gardens with excessively loud audio systems will be asked to reduce the noise level. If they do not comply other actions will be taken.

PARADE OF FLAGS AT ONE WORLD DAY 

This year’s parade will start from the Ethiopian Garden on MLK,Jr Blvd, proceeding north towards the Centennial Plaza where it will continue to the parade’s end at the “CLE” sign. 

The naturalization ceremony and opening remarks will take place at the Centennial Plaza prior to the Parade of Flags.

All Gardens wishing to participate at the Parade the Flags can indicate it as part of the general Garden Participation Form.

Below are the parade rules:

  • No motor vehicles, golf carts or car with trailers are allowed in the parade.
  • No animal or animal carriages are allowed in the parade.
  • Line up check in starting time is 10:30 a.m. at the Ethiopian Garden

PASSPORT TO PEACE

The Passport to Peace booklet has been a wonderful tool to encourage people to visit the individual gardens and to learn about the different cultures represented.  It was meant to be given to young visitors but we find that everyone, young and old, wants to get in on the fun!

Passport book activities (things visitors need to do to get their book stamped) should be short and sweet.  You want to convey a bit of relevant information while not having a long line of people waiting to earn the stickers/stamps.  We find that having at least two to three people working this area is helpful.  Examples of activities include:  having them say “hello” in your language, point to the country on the map, use chopsticks to pick up a gummy bear, creating a Jeopardy board with cultural information, showcasing handicrafts from the country, participating in a kid’s game from the country.  We are always amazed with the creativity shown by the Gardens for this.

Here is a source for the flag stickers that can be put in the passport. The price remains the same as the pre-covid cost:   300 flag stickers for $12    http://www.flagstickershop.com/reflde.html

In addition to a spot for each Garden, the Passport to Peace book will also have a few pages with pictures of interesting items from all over the Cultural Gardens for festival goers to find and identify, like in a scavenger hunt.

A starter set of Passport to Peace booklets will be provided to you by the OWD Garden Coordinator between 9am and 10:30 am on One World Day.

PERMITS (MUST be submitted 45 days prior to the event)

There are a variety of forms required depending on what you plan to do. These include Temporary Food Permit, Fire Permit, and Certificate of Qualifier (for use of propane).  Please fill out the proper form(s).

All forms must be submitted directly to the appropriate city/state department, with the exception of the Food Permit. Food Permits will be collected by the Federation and turned in collectively.  Information regarding payment for all permits and will be on the forms.  

Please write checks to the appropriate organizations. No personal checks permitted.*** Checks must be made payable to City of Cleveland, please do not write any checks to the Federation.

Please email ALL completed paperwork to oklpowell@gmail.com including a copy of your non-profit paperwork.

FOOD PERMIT

  • A Temporary Food Permit with the City of Cleveland is required if you plan to sell food in your Garden, Click for Temporary Food Permit Application.
  • Note – NO Food Permit is required if you are selling items considered part of the “Cottage Food Operation”.
    • A “Cottage Food Operation” is defined as a person who, in the person’s home,
      produces food items that are not potentially hazardous foods, including
      bakery products, jams, jellies, candy, fruit butter, and similar products
      specified in rules. These foods must be labeled properly or they will be
      considered misbranded or adulterated. 
  • The temporary food permit fee with is $60 for non-profits with 501(c)(3) paperwork and $110 for for-profit organizations. *** Note – these are the new fees set by the City of Cleveland, and non-profit paperwork must accompany the Food Permit Application to get the non-profit rate.
  • No personal checks permitted.  Checks should be made out to “CITY OF CLEVELAND”.
  • No food permit is required for bottled water.

FIRE PERMIT

The City of Cleveland requires a FIRE PERMIT ($25) to cook food on site.

If you plan to use propane, a Certificate of Qualification is also required which involves watching a youtube video, and an additional $35 fee. Gardens are responsible obtaining permits by July 15, 2024.

Open Flame with Charcoal or Wood

  • Please fill out the Fire permit form.
  • A $25 check made payable to the City of Cleveland is required.
  • Enter the name of the person that will be on site and monitoring the flame the day of the event.
  • Enter your Garden’s address in the “name of facility” section and the “special event location” section.  For those that have an upper and lower Garden, please note whether the flame will be used on the upper or the lower garden.
  • Sign the form – a permit will not be issued if this is left blank

Open flame with propane  

TWO forms and TWO checks made out to the City of Cleveland are required.

TENTS, TABLES AND CHAIRS

  • Each garden is provided the following at no charge:
    • One (1) tent, size 9×9 (No tent larger than 10×10 is permitted and the city will shut you down if you do not have a permit for a larger tent)
    • One (1) 6-foot table
    • 2 chairs
  • If you need additional tents, tables or chairs, the fees are below
    • $40 per tent, $15 per table, $5 per chair

CHECK IN TIME IS  7:30 to 9:55 am  

  • You must enter from North end of MLK (from  I-90). No other entrances can be used to enter the gardens. You should be able to exit from any street but the north end of Martin Luther King Blvd is the only way in during One World Day.
  • THE ROAD CLOSES AT 10am.   ALL VEHICLES MUST BE OUT OF THE GARDENS BY 10 am. Which means you should start moving your car ot of the footprint prior to the roads being closed. The best practice is to drive to your garden, unload everything, park the car and come back to setup.
CHECK OUT TIME IS when the police give the ok to move vehicles into the footprint.

We need SPONSORS. Please help us secure sponsors.  

We need VOLUNTEERS for Saturday during setup and Sunday throughout the day.  Information about volunteering at One World Day can be found at this link.

The Federation booth also needs volunteers. If you can help, please contact Tom Turkaly at t.turkaly@clevelandculturalgardens.org.

We would like to share a reminder that when you are doing interviews and/or promoting One World Day to your community, feel free to use the “Top Ten Talking Points” about 2025 One World Day.  (COMING SOON)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Per the Cleveland Police Department, we must completely close the entrance to the gardens at 10 a.m. and all cars MUST vacate the Gardens footprint by 10:00 a.m. the latest. 

 THE DAY OF THE EVENT

  • MLK and East Blvd. will be open for delegate’s cars to drive in from 7:00 am till 9:55 a.m. ONLY for unloading purposes.
  • You MUST drive the cars off the streets prior to 10:00 a.m.  NO VEHICLES ARE ALLOWED on these streets after 10 a.m. Car left after 10:30am will subject to be towed.
  • Roads will be CLOSED at 10:00 am.
  • Garden’s vendor (for profit or non-profit) parking is at the Michael R. White School lot. Gardens will have to share the allotment of parking permit passes (4) with any vendor(s) that is part of a garden.
  • We cannot accommodate your vendor if they plan to arrive at a later time as we can not guarantee spaces (first come, first served).
  • If you need to unload additional items to the gardens throughout the day, you cannot drive your vehicle in, you will have to park and carry the items in or use your own carts.